Moses-Payne, Madeleine Elizabeth; (2024) Constructing the Self in Adolescence: Learning What We Like and What We're Like. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Self-concept refers to beliefs about our own abilities, traits, and preferences, and how we perceive ourselves in relation to others. The quality and valence of these beliefs can have significant impacts on mental health. In this thesis, I investigate the motivations and cognitive abilities that underlie the formation of self-referential beliefs during adolescence. Adolescence is a critical period for self-concept construction as adolescents gain independence and navigate new environments. In the first experiment, I demonstrate that the ability to reflect upon our own decisions shows age-related improvement during early adolescence. I present evidence that the development of this metacognition may encourage independent decision making during adolescence. I then investigate how adolescents form judgements of their own traits, finding that preferential memory for self-judged versus other-judged traits is heightened in early adolescence and declines across the teenage years and into adulthood. I also demonstrate that negative self-judgements show a quadratic association with age, peaking around age 19, and that preferential memory for positive over negative traits increases across adolescence. In the third experiment, I examine how adolescents can use the process of choosing itself to gain certainty over their own preferences. I show that the use of choice for value refinement increases across early adolescence and is associated with depressive symptoms. In the final experiment, I utilise geolocation tracking and ecological momentary assessment to explore the impact of independent decision making and exploration on affect and social network growth. I also explore how adolescents form judgements of and adjust their behaviour to changing social norms, a potentially important source of information for adolescent self-concept development. I argue that by understanding the factors that contribute to the formation of the self-concept during this critical developmental period, we can better support young people in developing a positive self-concept and promoting mental health.

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